Marion County is one of the oldest counties in
Mississippi, created in December, 1811, a little
more than five years before the state government
was set up in March, 1817. The county is a
division of the Mount Dexter Treaty which was
concluded in 1805 and which embraced all lands in
South Mississippi. It lies just north of the
Louisiana and Mississippi state line and in its
original area it was of considerable size,
embracing the present counties of Lawrence, Pike,
and Lamar.

Excerpts from the original territorial laws of
Mississippi reads as follows:

51, Section 3. All that tract of country
within the following boundaries, to-wit: Beginning
on the line of demarcation, where the fourth range
of townships east of Pearl River intersect the
side line, thence west with said line of
demarcation to the sixty-mile post, east of the
Mississippi, being the first range of townships to
the Choctaw boundary lines thence along said
Choctaw boundary line to the fourth range of
townships east of Pearl River, thence with said
range to the beginning, shall constitute a county
which shall be called Marion.

52, Section 4. Jessie Thompson, Josiah
Skinner, Alexander McIntosh, William D. Phelps and
James Hartfield be, and hereby are appointed
Commissioners of Greene County; and that William
Powe, George Evans, William Patten James Marshall
and John M. Reddoch be and are hereby appointed
Commissioners of Wayne County; and that John Ford,
George Henry Mixon, William Whitehead, Stephen
Noble and John Graves be, and hereby are appointed
commissioners for Marion County with power and
authority to fix and establish the permanent seat
of justice within their several counties; and in
case of division of said board of Commissioners, a
majority shall rule.
Acts of December 23, 1815:

Section 1. Charles Stovall, William Lott, Harmon
Runnels, Jordan Morgan, John Ford, John McGuffie
and Dougal McLaughlen, be and they are hereby
appointed Commissioners, who or a majority of
them, shall have full power to direct and
superintend the opening and clearing the river
Pearl, and they are hereby declared to have full
power to do and perform all acts and doings, by
this act authorized and required.

Every person subject by law to work on public
roads, who lives within five miles of the said
river Pearl on either side within the Mississippi
territory, from New Columbia down, may, by the
Commissioners aforesaid, be made subject under
their direction to work six days in each and every
year in opening and clearing the river Pearl. The
said Commissioners, or a majority of them, are
hereby authorized to raise by way of lottery the
sum of two thousand dollars for the purpose of
improving the navigation of the said river or such
a scheme as they may deem more expedient; which
sum shall be applied to the purpose aforesaid in
such manner as the Commissioners, or a majority of
them may adopt.

53, Section 5. The Commissioners appointed by
this act to fix the permanent seat of Justice for
Marion County, shall be bound to fix the same on
the west side of Pearl River, and within township
number 3.

Act of December 16, 1812:

62, Section 1. The county town in the County of
Marion is laid off in the fractional section
number 14, in township number 3, range 18, east
situated on the west bank of Pearl River, is
hereby established, and shall be called and known
by the href of New Columbia.

Act of December 9, 1815:
Section 3, John Harvey, Senior, Stephen Peak,
James M'Gowen, Charles Stovall and John M'Guffee
or a majority of them be, and they are hereby
appointed Commissioners to fix on the site for
public buildings on Pearl River, at the place most
eligible and convenient for the inhabitants of
Marion County and which place so fixed upon shall
be the permanent seat of justice in said county.

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